


Ozai's Notes

by EmpressJ



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Manipulation, Family Angst, Family Issues, Gen, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Surprise Favouritism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26585593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpressJ/pseuds/EmpressJ
Summary: He was meticulous and methodically organised. All his pages and pages of writings kept orginised in locked boxes in further locked rooms. Now that Zuko was firelord he had the pleasure of knocking down those doors and rooms.********Zuko find his fathers writings and finds the ones about him.
Relationships: Azula & Ozai (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Ozai & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	Ozai's Notes

His father wrote everything down. All his thoughts and notes and ideas he had kept documented during his reign and even before that.

He was meticulous and methodically organised. All his pages and pages of writings kept organised in locked boxes in further locked rooms. Now that Zuko was Firelord he had the pleasure of knocking down those doors and rooms.

Some people asked if he intended to burn his fathers thoughts and he had every intention of doing so until he found two small locked boxes on the back shelf caked in dust labelled Zuko and Azula respectively. His father's had clearly not touched these box in a while before the war ended.

Guards were waiting in the courtyard with flaming touches but curiosity seemed to get him once again and he sat on the floor, setting his lamp down beside him and unlocked the two boxes.

_April 4th 83 AG my son was born._

_March 11th 85 AG - Zuko's first steps. Ursa was incredibly happy, it was unbecoming. But I was happy too, the women is rubbing off on me._

_July 28th 85 AG - Zuko's first word was mama. Ursa missed it the foolish women._

_November 20th 86 AG - Zuko almost drowned on our holiday. I had never felt more afraid, I have never reacted so quickly. I wonder why that is. Ursa cried and held him all night._

_November 21st 86 AG - I taught Zuko to swim, he was adequate. He made too many mistakes before he picked it up. At least I won't have to be afraid like that again. It was shameful._

His notes go on like that for pages. Pages and pages and pages, for years, he stops after Zuko's banishment and did not start again until after his return from 'killing the avatar'.

Zuko reads every word written down and then he reads it again. His father had recorded all the fine mundane memories of his entire life from his medical details to his first day at school and Zuko could almost believe it was done out of love. Almost.

Ozai didn't love his children, Zuko realised that way before his little sister ever could.

He picks up the book titled Azula which was much more full then his but that didn't surprise him. If his father had loved any of his children it'd be her.

_November 11th 85 AG my daughter was born._

But that is where the similarities between the two books ended. All of his notes on his little sister had a different focus to his own.

_January 18th 88 AG - Azula perfects basic firebending moves for fun. She is a certainly a prodigy, unlike her brother. It would be beneficial to divide the two of them._

_September 6th 88 AG - Azula displays confidence of a master and arrogance of a royal._

_December 23rd 89 AG - Iroh disapproves of Azula's training style and her attitude. I know now, this time I have moulded the child correctly having interrupted the mothers influence._

_February 9th 91 AG - Azula and Zuko are unreconcilable and Ursa further favours the boy and misunderstands her. My daughter only fears and trusts me now, she confuses it with love. She will be valuable._

In a moment of weakness, Zuko slips his own book into his robe and burns everything else. Something about the words on those pages of Ozai's many, many notes compelled him to keep them.

He just hoped and prayed Azula wouldn't find the ashes of what their father thought about her.

**Author's Note:**

> Yo 👋🏽  
> So we all now Ozai is a bad dad, thats facts. But I spend alot of time thinking about this family and I just wonder alot about Ozai's dynamics with his kids. So here's my thought process:  
> He praises Azula for her talent and her entitled attitude. Does that mean he only values her because of that? Did he love Azula or see her as simply an asset? 
> 
> And as for Zuko, what if Ozai saw his ove for his son as a weakness and reason to distance himself from him and treat him like crap.
> 
> And thus I made this.
> 
> Please enjoy, please be kind, thanks :)


End file.
